OFF-GROUND
Try this simple method to ensure you get the sinker’s starting position right
How tackle layout and rotation add power.
Get the basics of the preliminary exercise right and you’ll find that upgrading is fairly straightforward. The key is to load and release the rod smoothly and efficiently. If you do only one thing to improve your casting, get the sinker’s starting position right because it almost guarantees decent rod efficiency. It helps to use a proper arm action too.
Try this simple off-ground exercise. The
sinker is laid out under the rod and, using a simple push and pull to swing the rod through its power arc, you act as a human trebuchet (a machine that hurled huge stones at castle walls).
In real-life casting, the rod actually travels along an angled plane rather than through the vertical, as in the trebuchet.
The sinker is now in a high inertia position. It wants to stay where it is when the rod moves. As a result, the rod starts bending and storing energy. The sinker’s smooth lift-off generates enough early resistance to give the caster something to work against. The sinker aligns with the caster’s power arc as the rod accelerates forwards. The rod bends to full compression until it arrives at the caster’s final punch-pull position.
The arm action accelerates the sinker even harder due to leverage, and at the same time the rod unwinds to release the stored energy in a catapult-like flow that ends at the followthrough position. By this time the sinker is on its way into the sky and out to sea.
ADDING MORE POWER
Here our diagrams show the introduction of a little bit more body rotation and rod arc, but at this stage, don’t attempt a full wind-up and maximum rod arc.
Rather than set up with the lead weight under the blank, move it slightly to the right (see diagram left). Your casting action remains the same – smooth, relaxed and with plenty of left-hand pull. Experiment with set-up angles and sinker drop because even a small change in set-up and body rotation alters the rod’s response and the cast’s flight path.
You’ll sense how your right shoulder comes into play due to more body rotation and a wider rod arc. It feels as though the shoulder gets behind the load and starts to push. That push is generated by the upper half of your body unwinding, not a right-arm punch that comes later.
The sensation of pressure building in the right shoulder is an important indication of how your casting style is coming together.
All that stands between you and a power version of this ground cast is a bit more body rotation and rod arc, slightly revised sinker layout, and the inevitable practice. You should find the body rotation and tackle layout that suits you, but your set-up will change over time.
CASTING QUESTION
Q: In trying to get a good technique, why does the correct way often feel wrong?
John Holden says: This is when bad habits are itching to take over. The longer you have been using a poor technique, the harder it is to delete the muscle memory. Ground casting helps because everything can be set up exactly the same way each time.
The best way to improve is to go through the same step-by-step process every cast. Eventually your cast will flow on an updated autopilot.
USE THE CLOCK
Here’s a simple exercise… look at our diagram and imagine you are standing in the centre of a clock face where 12 o’clock is straight out to sea. Seen from above, the hands of the clock lie in a straight line across your shoulders.
Now identify your aiming spot in the sky and take up a stance that feels right for making the punch-pull. For most people, this puts the clock’s hands (the line across the shoulders) between ten-to-four and five-to-five.
Without moving your feet, turn away from the sea until you feel a comfortable amount of rotary tension in your upper body. At the same time, shift your body weight towards the right foot and bend the right knee a little. You will automatically lean forward slightly.
The line across your shoulders now lies somewhere around ten-past-eight, but some casters easily reach quarter-past-nine, while others get stuck at five-pastseven. Rotating just far enough to generate that springy, wound-up feeling guarantees plenty of power, so stay in your comfort zone.
Do not bear hug the rod to your chest or shove it away at full stretch. Keep your left arm fairly straight with the elbow high so that the forearm seems an extension of the rod handle. Stay relaxed.
When the left arm is held correctly and the rod tip stays low, the right arm takes care of itself. With your shoulders at ten-past-eight, the rod will point to about eight on the dial.
As body rotation and rod angle increase, shift the sinker progressively to the right and away from the rod. You might have to adjust the drop a few inches either way to improve feel, timing and distance. The aim is for the sinker to lift off cleanly under the right amount of resistance, and follow the rod tip accurately along the cast’s power arc.
Maximum rotation doesn’t necessarily mean the highest power. Less may boost your results. Find out through trial and error. Play around with rod angle and sinker layout too – you could lengthen/shorten the drop, shift the sinker more/less to the right, or use less/more lead.
Cast slowly and smoothly to begin with, paying more attention to the cast’s feel than to its distance.
LOOK FOR RESISTANCE
By adding body rotation and extending the rod and sinker arcs, you create a longer power stroke that is flatter and more rounded. Seen from directly behind the caster (left), the rod will be angled at about 45 degrees to the vertical when the arms make the push-pull.
Don’t worry about the precise angle. Concentrate instead on that feeling of resistance focused on your right shoulder as you move towards the beginning of arm action. It confirms that body power is flowing into the cast. You don’t get that feeling if the arc is too steep or too flat.
Your casting action should be smooth and progressive. Avoid an extended set-up where the cast starts on a shallow track then switches abruptly to a steep plane just before the arms go to work. This sudden kink in the flow reduces power, encourages snap-offs and backlashes, may damage the rod and inflicts heavy, twisting pressure on the lower spine, which is why so many powerful casters armed with super-stiff rods suffer with bad backs.
This tale of woe is often triggered by the misguided notion that the left hand must be high in order to work properly during the punch-pull. The arm simply needs to be fairly straight for the pull, not necessarily high. It works just as effectively, if not better, when the pull is more across the chest.
Once your body is wound up, you seem almost paralysed in your starting position, and need a reliable way to trigger the action. Therefore, turn your attention to your body weight, which will be biased towards your right leg if the cast has been set up properly. Slowly but firmly start sliding your weight across to the left leg.
The moment body weight begins to shift, your shoulders start unwinding back towards the sea. A fraction of a second later the rod moves, the leader tightens and the sinker lifts off. It’s a perfect chain reaction, and all you have to do is turn your head and focus on the target in the sky. Getting your head around fairly early and locking on to the target is one of the best ways to keep a cast on track. ■